Networks and network communications are well known. Some networks operate strictly in the electrical regime, that is transmit electrical signals only; other networks use optical signal typically transmitted along optical fiber; other networks are hybrids using both optical fibers and electrical communications such as on coaxial cable. One well known type of network is the Ethernet standard network, typically used for computer-type data communications but not so limited. Ethernet has been expanded to be able to deliver broadband communications such as video and voice. While Ethernet is an electrical communications standard, it is compatible with an optical communications media. Ethernet, like many other computer-based communications systems, is intended for two-way communication such as between computers. Hence the Ethernet standard is for two-way (bidirectional) communications Ethernet compliant hardware (circuitry) normally is designed for communications, that is messages, flowing to and from a particular hub, node, or transceiver. Such Ethernet compliant equipment is widely available and relatively inexpensive. The same is true of other two-way communication standard-compliant equipment.
However there is a requirement, for instance in the cable television industry, for one-way network communications. Typically this is for transmission of programs from the head end to the consumer at his home along the cable television network. Heretofore, such systems did not use Ethernet-compliant equipment but instead used equipment specifically designed for cable television at the head end, hubs, fiber nodes, etc. Especially in the case of communication systems using a hybrid of coaxial cable and optical fibers, provision of two-way communications from the head end to the individual homes is relatively expensive since a separate optical fiber must be used for the downstream transmissions (head end to home) versus the upstream transmissions (home to head end). Therefore in the typical television system application, preferably only one-way communication is provided along the optical fibers. To the extent there is an upstream communication, it frequently uses a different and less expensive communications channel such as, for instance, telephone lines. In the typical cable television system application to the extent there is upstream communication, it typically requires much less information carrying capacity (bandwidth) in the upstream channel than in the downstream channel. For cable-TV, the downstream transmissions are of video (television programs) while the upstream communications are very limited, such as billing information, program selection, or other very low bandwidth communications. In this case, providing a fully bidirectional communications system with equal bandwidth in both directions is economically inefficient. Hence this environment is normally not viewed as one suitable for Ethernet or other bidirectional communications type equipment and such equipment has generally not been used heretofore in such applications.